I work in a boarding kennel (in Michigan) and I got a disturbing call today. The man was very upset; his Border Collie nipped the neighbor's kid (leaving a small bruise) and they called the police, who called animal control and they took his dog away! They brought him to the local pound and said he has to stay for 10 days even though he is fully up to date on his shots!? The man was wondering if he could convince animal control to release the dog to us, because the pound is notorious for housing sick and flea-infested dogs, he is worried about his dog's health! I told him that yes we would take his dog and he was going to call animal control and get back with us tonight. I felt so bad for him and I was kind of mad at myself because I know nothing about the law when it comes to matters such as this, or what a dog owners rights are. I wanted to help this man more than I did, he so obvious loved his dog and was just sick about the incident.
Does that sound right to you? I know laws vary from state to state and country to country, but to take someone's dog for 10 days - just for a nip?

Yeah, the guy had proof that the dog had it's rabies shot. He said his dog was playing in his own yard, running back and forth, when the neighbor kid ran into the yard. I've never had Border collies but the man said they have a real tendency to want to stop movement, its just their thing. This makes me so mad! The thought of someone showing up at my door and wanting to take my Bear!!

My cat bit a friends son once...the teacher asked him about the bruise on his finger, she told the nurse,the nurse called animal control.. next thing i know they want to quarantine my cat for a week. At this point, if nothing is done, everyone is liable, so they always over react it seems.

We made a big fuss about it, and it turns out I could quarantine my cat at home. (...they will NOT volunteer the options available, they charge for the boarding). My vet had to get involved though. I am pretty sure it is just a medical precaution, which is probably why they allowed my vet to supervise the quarantine instead.

I would suggest asking his vet. They seem to stay up and up on things like this.

Make sure he takes pictures of the bruise for his own legal defense, if it's ever an issue.

Here's Arizona's dog bite statute. Sorry I don't have quick access to one in Michigan.

"A. An unvaccinated dog or cat that bites any person shall be confined and quarantined in a county pound, or, upon request of and at the expense of the owner, at a veterinary hospital for a period of not less than ten days. The quarantine period shall start on the day of the bite incident. If the day of the bite is not known, the quarantine period shall start on the first day of impoundment. A dog properly vaccinated pursuant to this article that bites any person may be confined and quarantined at the home of the owner or wherever the dog is harbored and maintained with the consent of and in a manner prescribed by the county enforcement agent."

dog must not bite a child..no matter what the law is very firm on that. It would be nice if the parents had some common sense..suprised they didn't sue. A dog bite is some extra pocket change..it is up to every dog owner everywhere to social their pet and make sure they are child safe or make sure a child will never be around their dog..even on their own property. I don't know if you can get in trouble or not for boarding the animal the length of time. We often had people want to hide an animal out with us..my boss did it one time long before i came along..and that dog was still there, owner ditched him. He was a bad dog too..a real mean biter. I had a system for getting him out of his run by opening the kennel exactly across from it. I didn't trust ever. he was a sneaky biter too.

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Side by side on the sofa sat three annoyed dogs and one smug catand then in came a little white kitten,

It's pretty common for a herding dog to nip kids though. It's not right, but it's not exactly a vicious attack, either. Responsible owners will be aware of this bad habit and socialize/educate the dogs appropriately , hopefully. Character wise though, the dog sounds fine to me.

Since there was no puncturing or crushing, I doubt his dog is going to get into any real trouble.

Still, it's the injury extent that will in the end count. I doubt they can sue him since there was no viciousness involved and it happened on his own back yard, AND the kid entered uninvited. I would consider that illegal entry of private property! Sue the kid's parents!

By the way, to me a nip and a bite are pretty different, incase someone thinks I'm advocating dogs biting kids. heee. I wouldn't accept nippy behavior from a dog, but i wouldn't freak out thinking it was overly aggressive, either.

Thank you for the info. I agree, a nip and a bite are two different things, the dog obviously could've done a lot more harm if he was so inclined. I am guessing that Michigan law is probably similar to Arizona law from the sounds of it. The man said he surrendered his dog to Animal Control but someone told him later that he didn't have to, not that animal control volunteered that info when they confiscated his dog. I guess we all need to brush up on the laws in our community in case we are ever in these kinds of positions, you need to know your rights! Thanks again for your input.

even though a dog or cat is up to date on their rabies shots , after it biyes someone it needs to be quarantined for ten days to observe its behavior for signs of rabies. once the animal gets in to the biting stage of rabies the virus has progressed so much the animal is usually dead from the virus in ten days. now the dog can be quarantined in the owners home or a boarding kennel IF the owner can guarantee that the dog or cat will not come in to contact with any human being for that ten day period. in most cases that is not feasible for most people so therefore the dog or cat must be quarantined outside the normal living conditions. on the last day of uarantine a vet has to look the dog over and state it is healthy and doesnt appear to have the rabies virus then it can be returned to the owner. with the laws becoming so harsh with dog bites recently i hope they dont deem this dog a dangerous dog and have him put down. but the owner of the child can call for that to be done , it is within their right to do so.

Stanna, thanks for that post. I've been biting my tongue. I AM SO SICK AND TIRED of people doing whatever they please, not teaching their kids a modicum of manners and common sense - you DON'T go through your neighbor's yard without permission and putting all the onus on the dog who is doing what he is SUPPOSED to do! If that had happened in our neighborhood the kid would've gotten told he should have known better and not gone into the dog's yard! Our Mickey bit a couple of the boys in the neighborhood when they were teasing her through the fence and it was the boys who were in trouble - not the dog!

It's time for dog owners to take back their homes! If you're trespassing here and get dog bit it's just too bad for you! I haven't looked up the statute, but that's the custom.

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